Author Archives: Cath@VWXYNot?

About Cath@VWXYNot?

"one of the sillier science bloggers [...] I thought I should give a warning to the more staid members of the community." - Bob O'Hara, December 2010

Evolutionary Solutions to the Hairy Back Problem

Posted on August 7, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Some creationists like to complain about macroevolution. They claim that this microevolution stuff is all well and good, but when has it ever produced any kind of meaningful change at the whole organism level?This week’s paper is an excellent rebuttal. … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, journal club, original research, science | 6 Comments

New Mendel’s Garden

Posted on August 6, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A new issue of Mendel’s garden is up at ScienceRoll. Check out the videos as well as the articles – the Mendel Rap is, erm, not a classic, but the claymation genetics is really cute.This summer saw my first experimental … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnivals, personal, science | 2 Comments

Bits and Bobs…

Posted on August 4, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

…a suitably lazy Friday post. 1) ERV and Colbert take down Michael Behe. Our chief weapon is reason, reason and mockery.Our two chief weapons are reason, mockery, and empirical evidence.Amongst our weaponry are such things as… 2) Another reason why … Continue reading →

Posted in apes, creationism, evolution, nature, personal, Primate Party, silliness, Vancouver | 3 Comments

New Gene Genie, and a New Logo

Posted on August 2, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

This post is a little delayed, but the new Gene Genie carnival is up at My Biotech Life. The blog’s author, Ricardo Vidal, has also come up with the nifty new carnival logo that now graces my sidebar. If anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnivals | Comments Off on New Gene Genie, and a New Logo

How to cushion a back-handed slap

Posted on July 31, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’m currently sacrificing some of my usual posting time in order to accommodate an insanely busy schedule, so today’s paper is just a short medical case-study. It’s no less interesting for that though – in fact I’ve been meaning to … Continue reading →

Posted in case-study, freakishness, journal club, medicine | 2 Comments

HERVs and Multiple Sclerosis, part 2

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Well, after a short period of distraction, I have just finished reading the new paper from Christopher Power’s lab at the University of Alberta. This study follows on from an earlier paper that suggested a causal link between the expression … Continue reading →

Posted in journal club, medicine, original research, science, virology | 8 Comments

…and I’m back.

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Did I miss anything important? This is awesome by the way. I think I like #10 the best. #7 is just disturbing. I would probably choose either a luxury yacht or a piece of really good cheese. I will write … Continue reading →

Posted in silliness | Comments Off on …and I’m back.

Message to Muggles

Posted on July 23, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Can’t blog. Reading Harry Potter. Back soon.

Posted in embarrassing fan girl, personal | 2 Comments

HERVs and Multiple Sclerosis, part 1

Posted on July 19, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I have a new paper sitting on my desk that I plan to summarise in the near future. The study investigates the relationship between syncytin, a human endogenous retroviral protein, and MS. I actually wrote a review of an earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in journal club, medicine, original research, science, virology | 3 Comments

Tangled Bank

Posted on July 19, 2007 by Cath@VWXYNot?

The new Tangled Bank is up at The Voltage Gate. As ever, I’m hugely impressed by the effort that hosts put into these carnivals. This time you can learn about Ancient Greek astronomy and medicine alongside your modern genetics. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnivals, silliness | Comments Off on Tangled Bank